Read time: 3.5 minutes

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Why do you exercise?

If you ask most people this question, the usual suspects will pop up.

They’ll say they exercise to:

• Live longer
• Lose weight
• Build muscle
• Keep doing physical tasks when they’re older

Sure, these types of goals are important.

But there’s also a problem with them.

They relate to the destination, not the journey.

The outcome, not the process.

Setting only long-term goals is like planting a garden without watering the seeds - you might dream of the harvest, but without regular care, nothing will grow.

That’s why process goals are so important.

They help you stick to the path to success - even when you don’t feel like it.

So, here are 5 seriously underrated exercise goals (we don't speak about enough):

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Underrated goal #1: Not getting injured

Nothing kills consistency with exercise more than injuries or niggles.

Granted, these are inevitable.

Exercise is a (good) stress, after all. And we don’t always get the balance right.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything to reduce our risk of injury.

It comes back to the basics of:

• Progressing slowly
• Listening to your body
• Focusing on form over intensity

Too often we let our “ego” take over - and before we know it, we’ve pushed too far - only to be sidelined for the next week or two as a result.

Often slowing down allows you to go further in the long run.

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Underrated goal #2: Never missing a workout twice

It’s all well-and-good to have a solid exercise plan.

But what happens when “life” gets in the way?

For some people, a missed workout is a sign of failure.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

They key is to not let the inevitable missed workout turn into a string of missed sessions.

Instead of trying to follow a "perfect" plan, committing to not missing a workout twice is a sure-fire way to get you back on track to long-term success.

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Underrated goal #3: Prioritising how often over how hard

I’m convinced a key reason so many people struggle to be consistent with exercise is because they go too hard, too early.

It's almost like we're often in a rush to get quick results...

You see, higher exercise intensities do work.

If you can stick to them long enough, that is.

But the problem is - the harder you go, the more likely you’ll be:

• Sore
• Fatigued
• Or worse, injured

And to top it off, making your workouts too intense could make exercise become something you don’t want to do often.

None of these things will help you keep showing up to exercise again and again.

So, slow down. Lower the weight. Stop your sets further from failure.

If you focus on the “how often” part, you’ll naturally have to back off on the “how hard”.

And that’s a good thing for building solid exercise habits.

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Underrated goal #4: Swapping instead of stopping a workout

I hear it all the time.

“Wow, you’re so motivated to exercise…”.

But this isn’t always true.

You see, motivation is fleeting. It comes and goes across a day.

There are days when I plan to exercise and really don’t feel like it.

This is where you need a way to trick yourself into getting started.

To do something rather than nothing.

Instead of skipping your planned workout altogether, you could:

• Run slower
• Lower the weight
• Walk instead of run
• Stop further from “failure”
• Do basic machine exercises
• Or even one priority exercise only

The hardest part of any workout is often getting started.

And just taking action itself often leads to extra motivation to do more.

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Underrated goal #5: Exercising to feel better

We’re told to exercise because it’s good for us.

Because it’ll reduce our risk of chronic disease - and add years to our life.

Both of these can be true.

But here’s the problem: these things are not immediate and intangible.

Meaning they may not occur until years or decades later (if at all) and they are hard to measure.

Now couple this with our tendency to:

• Avoid effort at all costs
• Value more immediate rewards
• Downplay our risk of bad things happening to us in the future

And suddenly being healthier or living longer isn’t big enough of a “carrot” to exercise.

Particularly when we can get instant rewards from other things with little to no effort.

But here’s the thing:

Exercise can be immediately rewarding.

It can improve our:

• Focus
• Mood
• Anxiety
• Pleasure
• General feelings

If we exercise for these instant benefits, not just because of the longer-term ones, we don’t have to wait to be rewarded.

And if we keep showing up from that place?

We get the longer-term rewards anyway.

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Do your exercise goals help you show up more often?

Everyone has their reasons to exercise (or to not).

It’s great to have a vision for what you want to achieve in life - and how exercise can help you get there.

But let’s not forget the extra step:

Laying down and nailing the blueprint (process) for the final product (long-term goal).

So don’t underestimate the importance of goals to help you keep showing up to exercise.

Because your long-term exercise goals depend on it.

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As always, thanks for being here!

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Until next Saturday,

Jackson

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If you've got a moment, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this edition of The Weekly Exerciser.

Send me a quick message or email - I'll reply to every one!

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IMPORTANT:

The information contained herein is of general nature only and does not constitute personal advice. You should not act on any information without considering your personal needs, circumstances, and objectives. Any exercise program may result in injury. We recommend you obtain advice specific to your circumstances from an appropriate health professional before starting any exercise program.